We didn't have the most restful of nights. After we arrived yesterday the wind continued to build and before we turned in, we withdrew the passerelle, so that it did not do any damage. During the night the wind was howling and the boat was rocking and rolling. At different times, e.g. it seemed like every 20 minutes, one or other of us was woken by the noise and movement. When it was time to get up, we put the instruments on and saw gusts of approaching 50 miles per hour, the worst we have seen in quite a long time.
As we knew that the weather was going to keep us in port, we planned a day out and a visit to our first World Heritage Site of the season. The wind was still howling, and we decided that we did not want to leave the passerelle out, but we needed it to get to the pontoon. It was a bit like one of those puzzles where you have to transport a chicken, a bag of grain and a wolf across a river, without the chicken eating the grain or the wolf eating the chicken, while you can only take two on any one trip. In this case, we had to get both of us and our day bag onto the pontoon and leave the passerelle on the boat. The procedure was to get our passerelle out, take Tricia and the rucksack across. Then for me to return and take the passerelle in, and then put a separate passerelle, in this case a rather simple plank of wood to Equinox from the pontoon, so that I could get ashore. And all of this while the wind was blowing hard, the boat and the pontoon were moving, and the plank was only just long enough. Some guys who were working on another boat nearby saw us struggling and came to help, which was much appreciated. Just crossing either of the "bridges" was daunting given the conditions and I did not fancy a swim in the marina.
With all of this accomplished, we walked into town to get the train. En route we passed a cement works, which had powder/dust blowing all across the road. A guy came past on his scooter, and was yammering away and gesticulating his resentment at the cement works. It made absolutely no difference, but I am sure he felt better afterwards.
We took the train to Cefalu, about 20 minutes away. The trains were smart, clean and on time, and one that we saw even offered charging for electric bikes while in transit.
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| Not bad for 900 years old |
The prime visitor attraction in Cefalu is the Cathedral, which dominates the skyline. It was built in 1131 by the Norman King Roger II. He had vowed that after he survived a shipwreck, he would build a fitting temple to honour God. The cathedral "represents one of the most remarkable examples of Romanesque architecture in Sicily." The world heritage site comprises nine religious and civic buildings which are collectively "an outstanding example of socio-cultural syncretism between Western, Byzantine and Islamic cultures"
The wind was still incredibly strong, and while we were having coffee in the piazza in front of the cathedral, chairs and tables were being blown over.
We have been to Cefalu once before, and the weather was similarly stormy then. We visited the harbour just to confirm that this was where we had stayed, and I was nearly lifted off my feet by the strength of the wind.
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| The scene of our unfortunate previous visit |
During the afternoon, the wind seemed to ease, but we suspect that we had just found a sheltered spot to sit. After taking the train back to Termini Imerese, we were glad to see the boat still safely in her mooring, although now covered in a layer of pinkish dust. Hopefully it will rain in the next 24 hours to wash this off. We put the instruments on again, and over the next 2 or 3 hours we saw the wind drop from 35 knot gusts to absolutely nothing.
The forecast for tomorrow is for a different new weather system to arrive, bringing with it much the same conditions but with a different cause.
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